Luna untied the apron from her waist, pulling it over her head to perch it neatly on the wall.
"I don't mean to brag, but I'm quite proud of how beautiful the cake came out."
At the table, Noctis drummed his fingers excitedly, "then what are we waiting?" the sly smile was broad on his face as he pointedly looked to the fridge, "I want my wife's birthday gift already."
Quickly turning to him, Luna shook her finger, sitting beside him to cut his line of view. "Oh no, we will wait for everyone else to arrive and sing you a happy birthday together. Then you will get to eat it. Besides, it still needs some more refrigeration."
Pursing his lips, Noctis makes an act of sinking slowly into his seat as resignation settles in. Knowing Luna had dispatched every kitchen attendant for the day, he had gotten to the castle's kitchen earlier than anyone else, in part to expend some time alone with her before his friends' arrival, in part to watch her making what she knew was his favorite kind of cake. To his surprise, Luna had started her work earlier than anticipated, finding her already in the middle of washing up the kitchen utensils. Cue him, helping her clean cutlery - on his birthday, no less - with no batter eating. "Who helped you make it? Umbra and Pryna? You finished up rather quickly." he teased.
Luna huffed at the implication, "as if. ...They were trying to escape with the berries, but just got away with a few vanilla cake scraps off the counter."
He whistled, impressed. Knowing both dogs, Noctis could imagine all the trouble her 'little helpers' could bring when they put their mind on it, "heh, sounds like you had a lot of work."
Taking her hair out of her high ponytail, she let it fall freely down her shoulders. "Maybe it was, but," she took a moment to look at him up close, eyes glinting with a satisfied hue, "it is worth making for someone you love." Noctis moved before he could think about it; wrapping her arms around her, he stood up and gave her a great hug, lifting her off her seat until her feet couldn't reach the floor.
He was so lucky, so happy, but any words he tried to come up with to convey those feelings fell short in his tongue, so when Luna's laugh filled the room as he spun them both in circles, he hoped she felt at least a quarter of his glee. Luna's hair fluttered in his face, and he took the opportunity to playfully rub his nose against its plush. She smelled like a garden; a wonderful mix of flowers, berries, chocolate and... "Wait, why do you smell like coffee?"
He felt her tense up in his arms, and he promptly set her down, eyes seizing her with suspicion, "don't tell me… does that cake use coffee?"
"Is… that a problem?"
She watched as Noctis slowly backed away from her, jaw hanging open with disbelief. "You traitor."
Luna didn't hold back an eye roll "You are so dramatic Noctis. The original recipe has always been like this. Even the one we ate as kids." He crossed his arms in stubborn defiance, and she reached to lay a playful tap on his nose. "You won't even notice its there."
She could see the gears of his mind shifting, childish whines about poisoning by bitterness starting to form behind his sour expression. Quickly looking for a diversion to the upcoming tantrum, Luna found the bowl with the mix of berry compote remnants. Taking a quick dip of her finger in it, she swiped a sticky, clean line across his cheek.
His reaction was instantaneous.
"High treason! And on my birthday… You won't get away with this!"
Luna eeped and attempted to run around the table, trying to put it between them, but he was quicker and before she could go much farther, he caged her again between his arms. "Time to take a sip of your own medicine," he whispered darkly, before lifting her and taking her again towards the offending berries recipient.
"No! Stop it Noctis! I just cleaned! You are going to make a mess!"
"I cleaned too! And your hair is full of flour anyway, you are not that clean!"
Luna brought her hands to her hair "Is it really?"
"Yeah, is kinda cute…"
"Noctis!"
Snickering, he finally let go of her, punishment forgotten as Luna brushes her hair in search of all the alleged scrapes it contains. "Say, I really need to check if the cake does not reek of Ebony. Can I at least see it?"
Without meaning to, Noctis uses his best 'puppy smile' on her, and Luna's defenses don't stand a chance, "Fine, you win; I will show it to you… under the promise of not taking any berries from it," she warns, "I will give you a few extras if you behave."
"All good for me."
"Allow me to clean this first." She says, and kisses his strawberry-covered cheek, before taking him to the bathroom for a thorough face cleansing. Hand in hand, both of them head quietly into the kitchen when they notice something off in it.
The fridge door is open, but nobody seems to be around. Getting closer to the fridge, they come to face their visitors.
Right behind the door was Pryna, pulling it wide open from the cloth at the handle, and Umbra, who stood in his hinder paws at snout level with the cake. They were both looking at Luna and Noctis with wide, fearful eyes, like deers caught in the head lights.
Luna's voice rang quiet and clear, in a way that made Noctis shiver with goosebumps. "Get. Down."
A/N: Awwwww. No cake for the doggos this time.
This is kind of an unintentional sister piece to "One of a kind", such a nice coincidence! Or maybe is just me milking my headcanons unconsciously...
Maybe the real coincidence is that I had to publish them in chronological order~